City and fire district working on remodel plans

The city of Woodburns Urban Renewal Agency and the Woodburn Fire District are working on an agreement that will spell out the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies as they plan to complete the remodel of the fire district building.

The city had earlier planned to spend about $1 million on the remodel in a 2008 agreement, but the costs have gone down as some parts of the project have already been completed, said Jim Hendryx, economic and development director for the city.

The intergovernmental agreement will provide the fire district with a turnkey project that will spell out the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies working together, Hendryx said.

The remodel project will include sleeping rooms and other changes at the station, which was built in 1976. The fire station was later remodeled in 2004, according to the districts website.

It was $1 million a number of years ago, Hendryx said. Its not going to cost that.

The fire district is part of the citys urban renewal district, which has an estimated $4 million to $5 million worth of bonding capacity over the next five years. The money could be invested into a number of projects downtown, including the vacant Association Building and First Street improvements.

When the intergovernmental agreement is finalized, the two agencies will work together in a joint work session to finalize the project details, Hendryx said.